Complexity enters editing stage

CYNTHIA RAMSAY

The end is near! Well, almost. And in a good way. Complexity is in the final weeks of its “picture edit” and, once that’s finished and the cut of the film is “locked,” it will go to sound design and color correction. After another editing stage, then it will be screening time – at least for those working on the project. And, while there may be more changes after that, the production process is winding down. But it’s not there yet.

“Currently, both Brianne Nord-Stewart (editor) and Ron Philips (composer) are working incredibly hard under tight schedules,” explained Adam Bogoch, writer, actor and director for Complexity. “Both Brianne’s and Ron’s work needs to be finished in time for the next steps, as we cannot easily go back and change things.”

Producer Mattie Shisko and executive producer David Bogoch (Adam’s father) are also still involved at this stage, said Adam. “And other executive producers, like Saul (Kahn), have had their parts in the final developments, as well. We are all gearing up for a few screenings in which ‘the heads’ review the entire film as a whole to see what can be altered or improved.”

For now, however, Complexity is mainly in Brianne’s capable hands. Her short film Trolls (trollsthemovie.com) has played at more than 35 film festivals worldwide and won numerous awards, including a Leo for best student production this year and best Canadian short at the World of Comedy Film Festival in Toronto. It also has been sold to broadcasters around the world. Brianne’s most recent film, The Provider, won best film at the 2010 Bloodshots 48-hour film competition and earned the grand-prize award of $1,000.

Adam said he heard about Brianne from fellow Jewish community member and film and theatre professional Josh Epstein (co-owner of Motion 58 with Kyle Rideout).

“One of the biggest questions involved was if the editor could match the skill set and creativity of our director of photography, Paul Mitchnick,” explained Adam. “We had scored heavily by having him in that title, and whoever the editor would be needed to be able to do the work that Paul had done justice.... [W]e thought Brianne had the young, edgy, spontaneity to piece Paul’s beautifully classic images together in a way that would set Complexity apart from other films of its genre and budget.”

While an editor can come on board at any point in a project, Brianne told the Independent, she arrived on the scene rather late, after the film had been shot and was “in the can.”

“In August, I had been unemployed for a few months, had been to a few more festivals with Trolls and had spent a lot of time writing and working on some of my own projects,” she explained. “I was thinking about what I was going to do next as far as employment and, after [working on Kellie Ann Benz’s] Stupid Chainsaw Tricks, I knew that I wanted to do some editing work.

“Thanks to contacts I’d made at the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival, I was able to tap into some opportunities locally, which led me to Adam’s project.

“I had suggested that Adam have a presence at VIFF [the Vancouver International Film Festival], specifically at the forums where broadcasters and distributors would be. Then, I suggested that, to stand out, they should cut a trailer of the film to show to these people and to include in the film package they had.

“Adam and the producers thought the trailer would be a good opportunity to test the waters working with me, and to see what I could come up with to pitch the film. It was a tight deadline but they were thrilled with the result and asked me to officially come on board as the editor for the feature film. Mattie was also familiar with all the success of Trolls because she is one of the lead actor’s acting coaches.

“Is Complexity similar to other films I have done? Not really,” she continued. “It is a whole other beast. It is my first feature film as an editor or in a lead creative role, so this is all new. But the film has comedic elements, and I am well versed in short comedies (mostly about awkward sex though and not romance), and Complexity is a story about people and their relationships, and I think a good narrative film always has those elements.”

Brianne describes herself as “first and foremost a writer, director.” However, with the success of Trolls, she was interviewed by Kellie, the National Screen Institute’s short film columnist and a fellow filmmaker. During the interview, Brianne said Kellie “asked who edited my film because she was looking for an editor for her next short. That’s how I worked on her short film Stupid Chainsaw Tricks, and then I had the experience of working on another filmmaker’s project and my next strictly editing gig was Complexity.

“There are lots of writers and directors in Vancouver who make their films when they can, and work as an editor to pay the bills. It is a great way to stay connected to the industry, improve your storytelling skills and maintain a creative outlet, and that is really what interests me about editing. Since cutting Kellie’s film, we have stayed great friends, and are working with each other on a feature and are part of a film collective. And I’m sure that Adam and I will stay friends and possibly collaborate on a project again in the future. Editing allows me to collaborate with other directors and we get to learn from each other.”

With Complexity, after cutting the trailer, Brianne completed a rough cut of the entire movie so that Adam, the producers and she could look at the “big picture.”

“One thing I was looking for was if there were any scenes I thought should be cut,” she explained. “We didn’t have to cut entire scenes, but I have suggested cutting parts of scenes or lines of dialogue. I have found it is hard to be an editor if I have written and directed the film but, as an outsider who is only involved in the cutting process, I am less attached to the material so, for me, making decisions is much clearer and easier.

“Once I cut something, I show it to Adam and Mattie and, if I’ve left out something they want, I explain why I left it out and, if they show me that it needs to be there, I put it back in. At the end of the day, editing is a collaborative process. The film is pretty straightforward and the approach that Adam intends is one that is simple, yet effective. The more unique decisions [were] whether to include the jump cuts we used in the trailer and to what extent, and I suggested cutting back and forth between some scenes to create more tension and pace.”

Brianne noted, “There is a saying that a film is made three times: once when it is written, then again when it is shot, and then again in the cutting room. My job is to make sure that the film that was intended to get made gets made, or as close to that as possible – and, if possible, to make it even better and stronger.”

Brianne made just such an improvement with the teaser trailer for Complexity, which was produced before she joined the project. She wanted the actual movie trailer to better outline the story “and to do so by including a lot more dialogue, which explained how the characters were connected, and some of their history together.” She added, “I also felt when I watched it the first time that it was a drama, but when I read the script, I felt that it was more a romance and a comedy with dramatic elements. So, when they asked me to do the trailer, I asked Adam to address the theme he intended for the film so we could make a trailer that clearly reflected that.”

For the movie itself, Brianne explained some of what she looks for when putting a film together in general.

“When deciding what take or camera angle to use, I am thinking about how the character is feeling at that moment, how much of their surroundings we need to see, which line delivery is more believable or more in tune with the character and what the director wants,” she said. “I also have a strong opinion about framing and the lenses used, so sometimes I find one shot way more esthetically pleasing and, if the aforementioned criteria all line up, I will use that take.

“If I want to completely cut out a line or part of a scene, it is usually because the information does not propel the story anywhere or if the delivery of the line by the actor consistently feels forced. Sometimes, there is quite a bit of improv done while shooting, but if the improv doesn’t match for both actors’ close-ups, and there is no wide shot of it, usually all we can use is a line at most. And, regarding the length of a film, there are different length requirements for features, depending on the format it is shown in, e.g. festival, theatrical, TV, etc.”

But even though Brianne is the editor and Adam is the director, and even though the entire process is collaborative, it’s Mattie and David, the producer and executive producer, who “get the final say, no matter what Brianne and I think,” said Adam. “It’s total teamwork though, on both our parts, and Mattie and my dad are not harsh on any of the creative work that is done. They are concerned with what’s marketable and what distributors want, however. There are disagreements, when you have two, three or four creative minds in a small room together, they are bound to bash heads on something.... But, to be honest, the film, so far, has turned out above and beyond my expectations, which were high after what was done by the crew and cast in production. Brianne’s added comedy in the right places, and drama in others. There was one scene in particular that was going to be a tough one to edit, as there is so much going on, and I was worried ... now it’s one of my favorite scenes.

Interested readers can check out “Complexity Trailer” on YouTube or the film’s Facebook page, where visitors can indicate that they “Like” it. The production is still looking for contributions in exchange for perks and film credits at [email protected].

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